Legend of the Dragon Master
by perfect oblivion
Summary: After Astrid runs off to tell the village about him and Toothless, Hiccup decides that Berk has never been a true home for him. Setting off with Toothless, he learns of the true nature of dragons. CHAPTER 1 HAS BEEN COMPLETELY CHANGED.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Things couldn't possibly get worse. My dad was expecting me to kill a dragon, something I couldn't possibly do. It's not like I could just tell him that though, like that would go over well. What was a guy to do? I absolutely refused to kill a dragon, so maybe getting out of Berk would be a good idea. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more appealing it sounded. So I packed my bag full of what I would need and headed to Toothless' cove. Little did I know I was being followed.

…...

"Okay buddy, pack your bags," I called out to Toothless, "we're going on a little vacation... forever." I set my bag down, turn, and go white as a ghost, because right behind me was Astrid Hofferson.

"Astrid!" I stutter out, but that's as far as I get before she's at my throat like a wolf.

"How?" she asks, but I'm not following. "Just how did you get so good?" She yells. I slowly back away, but then she pushed me down, and holds me there by the blade of her axe.

"Nobody gets as good as you do so quickly, especially someone like you." She snarls. I try to get a word in, but she just presses the ax blade closer to my neck.

"So how does a stupid, clumsy, idiotic fishbone like you skyrocket to the top of the class in a couple of weeks huh?" She was practically screaming now. "Are you being trained by someone?" she demands, and I stutter out a denial. All that does is bring the blade right up to my neck, just a bit harder and she'd break the skin. Before she can make another demand, some bushes start rustling, making her go tense and alert. I was starting to sweat up a storm. If she found out about Toothless, it would be Ragnarok come early.

"Okay, okay the jig is up." I said, trying to distract her away from Toothless. "I've been making... outfits, yeah, Gah!" I scream as Astrid whips around and slices my chest with her axe.

"That was for lying." she said, and then slugged me in the face, sending me to the ground. "And that was for everything else." Remind me why I have a crush on this girl again? Then a threatening hiss is heard, and Toothless leaps out of the bushes, fully intending on giving a mauling to the blonde girl. Astrid's eyes go wide in shock and fear, and she starts running to the entrance of the cove, Toothless a hairsbreadth away. I try to run after them to try and diffuse the situation, but the pain of my chest wound stops me. It isn't deep, but it stings like Hel. I then see Astrid dive underneath the shield I accidentally wedged in the entrance, just as one of Toothless' fireballs smashes it to pieces. He then tries to reach Astrid with his paws, but by the looks of things, he's unsuccessful. Furious, he fires another fireball through the entrance, and I hear a scream of terror and pain and I wince. Night Fury's never miss. Toothless looked pleased with his handiwork, if the smug look on his face was any indication. I run over to the entrance to see if Astrid was alright. She was struck in the back by Toothless' fire, leaving a nasty red burn, but I sigh in relief when she gets back up.

"Hiccup!" she screams, "Get away from that thing!"

"Whoa Astrid, calm down. You threatened him."

"_I _threatened _him_? Who is him!"

"Astrid, Toothless," I say, gesturing to the dragon beside me, who snarls, showing he's not quite living up to his name. Astrid looks at me with shock, then loathing and disgust, and runs off back to Berk.

"Dah dah dah, we're dead." I state sarcastically. Toothless however, looks mighty pleased with himself and trots back into the cove.

"And where do you think you're going?" I call after him. "If she gets back to the village, we'll both be dead." Then I saw my pack, and I realize I was going to leave anyway. Then I started to think. I could say with all honesty that I had not a single friend besides Toothless, so would anyone really miss my departure? I was a complete and utter disappointment to my dad, so I knew I'd be doing him a favour. Plus when Astrid would give him the news he'll probably disown me anyway. When I thought about it, Toothless was probably the only one who actually cared about me. The only reason everyone was all happy with me was because I was doing so well in dragon training.

"You know what bud, never mind. We're getting out of here." I go to my pack and heft it up, only to drop it as stinging pain flared up on my chest. Toothless comes over to me and nuzzles up in worry.

"I'm okay bud," I tell him, "she just made a Gah!" And before I can stop him, Toothless gives a single long lick along the whole wound. It burns like Hel for a few seconds, then the pain dies down to nothing. I look at my chest, and although the cut is still there, it looks like it's partially healed already.

"Whoa. Okay, super healing spit. Who would have thought." I said to myself. I put on my riding harness,slung my bag over my shoulder, got on Toothless, buckled up, and we both shot off into the evening sky.

…...

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, my back burning like Hel. I couldn't believe it, Hiccup had a dragon, a pet dragon. He had gone and spat on all we and our ancestors stood for. I had to tell Stoick, the chief had to know. I stumbled in fright when I heard the shriek of a Night Fury. Had Hiccup set it loose after me? I ran faster, the village coming into view. I dashed into the village and saw Stoick coming back from the Mead Hall.

"Chief Stoick, Chief Stoick!" I yell as I run towards him. As soon as I reach him, I fall to my knees panting.

"What is it Astrid?" he asks with concern, then I hear him gasp. "Beard of Thor lass, what happened to yeh back?"

"Hiccup...Dragon..." I stuttered out between gasps of exhaustion and pain.

"Whoa, steady there lass. Catch yer breath, and start from the beginning. I nodded, and managed to calm my heaving chest down after a bit.

"All right sir, you're not going to believe this, but Hiccup has turned traitor." I see his eyes narrow and his face darken.

"Whaddya mean?" He asks with a note of danger in his voice.

"Well sir, I was chasing after him when I saw him go into the woods. I wanted to know how he got so good in dragon training all the sudden. I followed him into a secluded cove in the forest where he told someone to start packing up, saying something about a vacation. He then turned around and spotted me, and I confronted him about his skill. As I was questioning him I heard some bushes suddenly rustle. I took out my axe and started to approach, but Hiccup started pulling me back, babbling nonsense. I push him away, and all the sudden there's this fierce hiss, and a large black dragon leaps out of the bushes and charges at me. I ran, having never seen a dragon like that in raids or the manual. I had managed to stay ahead of it. And dived into an opening with a shield wedged into the entrance, just as the dragon let loose a blast of fire. Thankfully it hit the shield, and I was able to avoid the dragon's claws and fled through the opening because it was so narrow. Just as I reached the end, I was struck in the back by another fireball. When I got back up, Hiccup was standing right beside the monster. He then told me I had threatened it, talking to me like I had done something wrong. I then fled here to tell you."

All throughout my explanation, chief Stoick gave me that dangerous looking glare, and when I finished he finally spoke.

"Well you're right about one thing Hofferson, I don't believe it, not for a second. Hiccup's a good boy, he would never consort with dragons."

"But it's true sir." I plead.

"All right. That's enough o that lassie." said a new voice behind me. I turn and see Gobber coming towards me and Stoick.

"Astrid I know yer jealous o Hiccup, but accusing him o that? I'm not buyin."

"But I'm telling the truth." I say, but Stoick cuts me off.

"Enough girl, I could have you banished for saying those things about my son, but I'm willing to dismiss yeh lies as the ramblings of a jealous girl."

"But sir, I can prove it. Besides, what else but a dragon could do this to my back?" I saw Gobber hesitate a bit

"You know, she does have a point with that. At the very least there is a dragon on the island. It wouldn't hurt to check." he said. Stoick had that death glare of his on again, but relented.

"Fine, we'll check it out. But I warn you Hofferson, if what you say is false, I will have you banished so fast yeh'll think a Night Fury carted you off. Am I clear?" Gulping, I nodded, and led them back to the cove. When we got there, I pointed out the remains of the shield. As soon as we entered, I looked around for Hiccup, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Stoick, take a look at these." called Gobber. Stoick and I both went to see what the blacksmith had found. Gobber gestured to the ground, and we all saw tracks clearly belonging to a dragon all over the place.

"Can you show us where you saw the beast." Stoick asked me. I nod and show him where the dragon had leaped out to pursue me. We saw a bunch of tracks that clearly belonged to a dragon pressed deeply into the ground which headed to the entrance of the cove. Another set of tracks, clearly belonging to Hiccup if the size was anything to go by, walking beside the dragon tracks to the cove. The tracks then diverged, met back up by the center pond, and then the human tracks disappeared. Gobber stood up and scratched the back of his head with his good hand.

"Well Stoick, I hate to say it, but Astrid's speaking the truth." I look over to the chief. His back is facing me, and his hands are in fists.

"So what are we going to do about yeh son Stoick?" continued Gobber.

"Son? Son! He threw his lot in with the beasts. I have no son!" Stoick roared, and stormed off back to the village.

…...

Night had fallen, and Toothless and I had landed on a small, uninhabited island for dinner and sleep. I however, was too terrified to sleep. With Toothless' help, I had found the dragon nest, and the monster within had me shaking in my boots, literally. I knew that Dad could never be allowed to find that nest. If he did, no one would come back alive. Toothless nuzzled my side in worry, and I calmed down somewhat. After a dinner of fish for the both of us, we both curled up against each other and gazed up at the clear starry sky above us.

"Man buddy, that was some excitement earlier huh?" Toothless gives a small croon of agreement.

"You know, now that we're probably banished from Berk by now, we can prety much o anywhere we want. I've always wanted to see the outside world, and now I finally have that chance. I think banishment was the best thing to ever happen to me." Toothless then gives a short irritated snort.

"Whoops, second only to meeting you buddy." I quickly corrected. I then start thinking of what everyone's reactions are back in Berk. After my imagination had wandered I then started thinking of all the dragons in the nest. The more I thought, the more fascinated I became. I then got up and started counting the number of journals I had brought with me. I counted five, not bad but I would need more. I went back to Toothless' side and layed down once more.

"Well it's official buddy, we're going to travel the world, and learn about every dragon we find." I don't know why, but I was just so fascinated with dragons. I mean, look at Toothless. The dragon manual calls him the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself, yet how can something like that be so kind and playful. I wanted to see the real side of dragons. I wanted to see how they truly behaved. With a tired yawn I cuddled up against Toothless and drifted into slumber, Toothless providing me a blanket with his wing.


	2. Memories and Gronckles

**A/N:**

**Okay, I have some explaining to do. Now if you have just gotten into the story and have not yet read the former first chapter, you may ignore this author's note and head right into the story. For those that HAVE read the former chapter, stay put. I have a confession to make, I realized with the help of some reviewers, that I was going about this the wrong way. You see, a couple of reviewers have shown me something that has disturbed me greatly. I have been rushing my fics, and I am appalled by it now that I have been shown the proverbial light. All this time, I've been forcing myself to get a chapter done in one or two days, creating a fic that, while good, leaves so much more to be desired. I don't spend a lot of time on the chapters, making me miss certain grammar issues and messing up the flow. I also saw that I've been neglecting a huge part of the story, preferring a huge timeskip. This tells me I would rather shirk an important section of the story and break it up into short flashbacks instead of writing it head on. This must change. This WILL change, starting now. I have torn down the former chapter, and instead put this beautiful piece of work(at least I hope it is) in its place.**

**I ask that you treat the former chapter as a teaser, a snippet if you will, of an upcoming scene in this story. Now, when we do get to that scene, it will be five times more epic than what you've seen in the former chapter. It is my hope that this will be the most amazing thing you have read from me thus far. Special thanks to Dashboard Dusk, for verbally smashing this into my thick head. I now know what you've been so disappointed about, and I'm changing it. Now enough of my personal life changing speech, on with the story. Oh and before I forget, the entire story will be done in first person. I just seem to have an easier time with it.**

...

**Chapter 1**

**(For maximum enjoyment, play "forbidden friendship" while reading this section)**

I awoke to a wet, hot, and slippery tongue sliding itself constantly over my face.

"Blah! Toothless, cut that out! I'm up, I'm up." I yell, and get up off the ground before the overgrown salamander can continue his tongue ministrations. Wiping the slobber off my face, I check the wound on my chest, and I am pleasantly surprised to find that it was completely healed. The only evidence of it having ever been there in the first place, was the tear in my shirt where Astrid had sliced me. With my train of thought on the blonde girl, I started to remember my younger years of her and I. Hunting for trolls, having snowball fights in the winter, stargazing on warm summer nights. Then she went and threw that all away, all to become the perfect shieldmaiden. When I stayed a weak scrawn, she distanced herself from me, spoke to me less and less, and then ignored me altogether. It hurt, seeing my only friend break away from me just so she could be the perfect viking. I stared at the morning sky the whole time I was thinking, each cloud showing a memory as it passed by. All my life, I had been picked on for not being built like a viking. My cousin Snotlout hated me, and constantly kicked and bullied me around. My father only saw me as a disappointment, a stain on my family's name and integrity. The entire village despised me, calling me things like Hiccup the useless, Hiccup the weak, oh and my personal favorite, Hiccup the mistake. Was that all I was to them, a mistake? Something that shouldn't have happened?

Any further thoughts were shattered when a black reptilian snout nudged my side. I looked, and saw Toothless sitting beside me, curiosity and worry swimming in his green eyes. I give his snout a gentle rub and turn my gaze back to the white clouds.

"I'm okay bud," I tell him, "I'm just remembering the past." Toothless gives off a deep croon and rubs his head against my side. I pull him closer, and we share an affectionate half hug. My depression lifted, I turn to Toothless.

"Alright bud, we got the whole day to ourselves. What do you want to do?" Toothless seems to ponder about it, then grabs my shirt in his toothless mouth and pulls me towards the forest on the island.

"Exploration it is." I say, and we spend the entire morning checking out the island. The best part of it was when Toothless and I found a whole patch of dragonnip, as I decided to call the grass. Toothless jumped right in, rolling and writhing in the green, looking like he was having the time of his life. When the sun had reached its zenith, I tried getting Toothless out of the grass so we could get some lunch, but the big black lizard refused to leave. It was only when his own stomach gave off a loud gurgle, that he decided to relent. After catching a salmon for myself and a few cod for Toothless, we sat around a fire and dug in. After lunch was done, Toothless demanded a rubbing, and I was only too happy to oblige. I watched as the dragon melted from the pleasure my hands were giving, eliciting loud croons and purrs of contentment from the dragon. I decided to up the pleasure factor, and gently scratched that magic spot on his neck. Toothless' pupils dilated to epic proportions, and he went down to the ground in a boneless heap, his purrs becoming louder. Even in his paralyzed state I continued my ministrations, the dragon sinking even lower to the ground in pleasure.

After his little pleasure high was done with, we both took to the air, reveling in the sheer freedom flight gave us. In the big blue sky we were free. Free from all the prejudice, all the disappointment, and all the hate. It was only me and my best friend in this big blue expanse, and I realized just how much Toothless meant to me. I could no longer bear the thought of a life without my best friend. He was now all I had in this life, and soon my memories of him flooded out. I hated myself for even considering to kill him, and I hated Berk more for driving me that far. I was so desperate for praise, so desperate to hear my father speak those four magical words, I'm proud of you, that I was almost about to kill the only real friend I had ever made. Then I remembered approaching Toothless for the first time, fish in hand, and when I had offered it to him I saw the hope in his eyes. It was fleeting, but it was there. Then I remembered when I was helping him get his flight back, and although he would always act irritated, I could see the joy and gratitude in his eyes. And when we had finally succeeded in flight, I had never seen Toothless so happy. I gave my best friend a small pat on the head, and we flew all afternoon. We touched back down to the ground and I caught us dinner. That night we spent our time gazing at the star filled sky as we slowly fell asleep. Toothless was the first to fall into slumber, and I whispered a goodnight to my friend before I too fell into the veil of sleep.

**(The music should end here. If it's still playing, let it finish, as it's a beautiful song.)**

…...

This morning, Toothless and I were flying south to see what was in that direction. Today however was a joyflight, and Toothless and I were having the time of our lives. Flips, spins, corkscrews, you name it we were doing it. I had Toothless climb as high as we could go, then do an almost vertical drop towards the ocean below, pulling out of the dive at the last possible moment. As we cruised and had our fun, I noticed a large island on the horizon. I steered Toothless towards it as we continued to fool around like the crazy teens we are. Well, at least I think Toothless is a teen, it's not like I can ask him. Once again Toothless went low, the ocean so close I could reach down and touch it. Toothless skimmed the surface for a bit, then shot into the water and back out. Oh great, now my clothes were soaked and my hair was in my eyes.

"Toothless, did you really have to do that?" Toothless just flashed me one of his gummy smiles and continued having fun. After a while of flying, we made it to the island I had seen. Once we landed, I checked my bag, and everything in it was fine, just a little damp. Without further ado, Toothless and I started to explore. The island was big, but not big enough to support a viking tribe, so that was one threat eliminated. On the southern side of the island was a medium sized mountain, so Toothless and I decided to fly around it and check it out. Once we got there, we flew around the base and slowly worked our way up and around. On the southern face, right in the middle, was a good sized cave. I immediately had Toothless land there so we could check it out. The ledge that sprouted from the mountainside hid the cave from ground level, making it impossible for anyone but a dragon to see it, let alone get to it. The cave itself looked empty, but I am not taking chances.

"Toothless, go scope out the cave in case anybody's living here." Nodding, Toothless does as I tell him and enters the cave. Silence reigns for a few minutes, then I hear Toothless give off a croon. I enter the cave, and wait a bit for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Once I can see in there good enough to avoid walking into a wall, I check the place out. It's quite large, able to fit three Monstrous Nightmares side by side, and it also looks like it hasn't been used in a long while. Toothless wanders up to me and nudges my side, so I rub his snout. He nudges me again and I realize he wants me to follow him. He leads me to the back of the cave where I see a narrow passage. It's too narrow for Toothless to squeeze through, but I could slip through with my slim frame.

I slipped through the entrance of the passageway, only to find the rest of it was much wider. I walked down the hall-like passage, which I noticed slanted downwards, until I reached another cavern. I looked inside, and saw that it wasn't as big as the cave I first came in through. Then I hear a bubbling sound, and I turn my attention to the floor, where I see a large pool of hot water. Odin above, a hot spring. I do a little jig in my head, no more baths of cold river water. I quickly returned to the main cave, only to find Toothless with his head stuck in the opening giving me a pleading look. With an exasperated sigh and a few good minutes of pushing, I get his head free. I then re-enter the cave and look at it more thoroughly. Along the right wall is a natural stone shelf, running along the whole wall. I set my pack on it and continue my inspection. The left wall has a much smaller, but broader shelf, kind of like a table with no chair. The center of the floor had a bowl-like depression in it, perfect for a fire pit. Looking over the place one more time I nodded in approval.

"Well buddy, get comfy 'cause we're moving in." Toothless gives me a look clearly saying, _does that mean it's ours?_

"Yes Toothless, the place is ours." I respond with a sigh. Toothless seemed pleased with my answer and headed out the cave opening, slipping around the corner. After a few seconds I see him going to and disappearing past the other corner. He then returns into the cave, picks a spot on the floor, lets loose with a stream of fire, burns a circle into the ground, and settles down for a nap. While the lazy salamander is snoozing, I start unpacking. After fifteen minutes I'm finished, and the salamander's still sleeping. I decide to join him, and I lie down beside him and fall asleep. I am awakened once again by Toothless' forked tongue licking my face. Getting up, I check the position of the sun, and am surprised that it's already late afternoon.

"Okay buddy, we need to grab some firewood." I tell him, and I grab my now empty bag to carry the collected wood. I also bring my journal and writing stick just in case, and we fly down into the surrounding forests. As I gather firewood, I hear a distinct and familiar buzzing sound. I follow the sound, and find a massive nest of Gronckles, what luck. I stay in the treeline and outside their boundaries, some of the Gronckles were already defensive at my proximity to their drove, but as long as I did not step into their territory or make any aggressive moves they would not attack. I sketch the nearest Gronckle, and write down all what I could about them. As soon as the sun started touching the horizon, I gathered up my firewood, and left to find Toothless. I stayed on the island for three months, during that time I would take every opportunity to research the Gronckles.

At first they were defensive around me, but when they saw that I posed no threat to them they had let me within their group. I learned so many things from them. Many vikings believed Gronckles to be nothing more than dim witted brutes, but this was very untrue. Gronckles just lived simple lives and followed simple rules. Hierarchy was decided by size. The smaller male Gronckles and the adolescents were the hunters of the drove, the middle and large sized male Gronckles were the defenders with the mediums acting as outer sentries and the largers guarding the hatchlings. The biggest male was always the leader, and the biggest female was his mate. All the other females lived in large groups I decided to call nurseries, because they took care of all the hatchlings and drakelings. I found out that the nurseries were to not only to provide additional eyes and protection to their young, but to also teach coming of age females parenting skills.

When I was accepted into their midst, I also learned of their culture. I learned that Gronckle leaders would butt heads with visitors as a sign of trust, which left me with a whopper headache. One day, an elder female charged me, but I stood my ground and showed no fear. Just before she hit me, she stopped, snorted in approval, and returned to her nursery. After that the females allowed me to be near and interact with their young, which was a very big honor mind you seeing as Toothless wasn't given the same privilege. Sometime during the second month of my stay, another Gronckle drove came to the island and tried to establish territory, and got into a fight for it. The fight was settled by the two Gronckle chiefs constantly ramming each other with their hard bodies until one gave in. The loser's drove, which was the newcomer's, had to leave for a different island while the winner's drove kept their territory. Feeding was very interesting because unlike other pack animals I had heard about, the children always ate first before the leader. During the final month of my stay, mating season had rolled around. I was very interested in the Gronckle's mating rituals. The males had to compete against each other much like they would for territory, and the male who could defeat the most rivals got the female. I didn't see any actual mating, nor did I want to.

During the final week of my stay I saw the guards in action. A lone Monstrous Nightmare had come into the clearing thinking some young Gronckles would be an easy meal. Immediately all the medium Gronkles formed an eight dragon long, two rowed shield wall in front of the Nightmare. Whenever the bigger dragon tried to skirt around, the shield wall would follow in perfect formation. Then they would begin to bellow and roar to deter the hunter away from the drove. The Nightmare didn't take the hint, and soon the Gronckles started to charge. As soon as a Gronckle left formation, the one right behind it filled the gap, and when he returned he filled the empty space in the rear, thus leaving no weakness in the wall. After three rammings, the Nightmare fled. On the second last day of my stay, I witnessed the Gronckle equivalent of a funeral, one of the elder males had died of age in his sleep. All the male Gronckles spent the entire morning digging a big bowl shaped hole in the ground where the elder had died. Once the hole was done the dead Gronckle was placed within it, then buried in gravel and other such sized stones. As soon as the dead elder was buried the Gronckles used their fire to melt the stone into a sort of tomb. As soon as the rock had cooled and hardened, the females gathered around the grave and began to sing. They were very precise, and used certain tones and pitches in certain places of the song. When the sun was lowering into the horizon, only then did they finish. Right after the funeral, a new nursery was made on the grave site.

Toothless wasn't a big fan of the Gronckles, but I think it was just because he too had to butt heads with the leader. All in all, I had witnessed an actual culture in dragons, something that no one had ever done. I saw that a Gronckle drove was like one big family, no dragon was left behind, and no dragon was ignored. This had only spurred my thirst to learn about all the dragons I could. The day after the funeral, I packed up to leave. I went down to the Gronckle drove and told them I was leaving. The leader then came to me and gave me a good bumping with his body, their version of goodbye. I bumped back, and later I flew off on Toothless, but what really surprised me was that the leader had sent an honor guard to fly with me until we had left the island.

"Well buddy," I say to Toothless, "It's just you and me again." I then decided to fly west, and hoped that a new dragon drove was awaiting me. I had filled an entire journal with just the information on the Gronckle, who knew how big a gold mine the next drove would be.

…...

**And that is a wrap. Now be sure to leave your thoughts in a review please, and tell me what you liked, and you thought could use some work. **


	3. Reminiscence and friendship

**A/N:**

**Okay, due to the shocking lack of reviews for the new previous chapter, I am assuming no one took the time to read it. Therefore I will put up the following warning:**

**If this chapter does not make sense, if you were expecting the aftermath of that nest battle, stop reading this chapter immediately. Go to the previous chapter and re-read it, and everything will make sense. For those that have read the new and improved chapter, why didn't you all review? But that's all water under the bridge now I suppose. One last thing before we get started, I have been getting a lot of reviews that just say "great story" or "please update soon". These are nice, as they tell me I'm obviously doing something right and making this story enjoyable, but they're not helping me. As a writer, I want to constantly improve, but I cant improve if nobody tells me what I'm doing wrong. Now, I completely understand if concrit is not your strong suit, but that's just fine. Just tell me what you liked about the chapter and what you think could use a bit of work, and I'll be happy. I just want to improve as a writer, so I need to know what it is I'm doing right, and what needs fine tuning. **

**Alright, now that that little rant is finished, it's high time we get started this chapter.**

…...

**Chapter 2**

Morning came all to soon for me, and I tried to block the sunlight with an arm and return to sleep, but someone had other plans.

"Oi, sis! Get your big lazy butt outta bed." Came Tuffnut's voice from behind my bedroom door.

"In a minute troll face." I shout back, wanting him gone.

"Dragon butt"

Booger brain" The next minute was spent shouting insults at each other through the closed door. After Tuffnut had left, I threw back the fur blankets that surrounded me, and got out of bed. There had been a dragon raid last night, and by Thor, there was a new dragon that participated. None of us could see much of it because it was so dark, but it could breathe lightning, literally. I for one thought that was pretty cool. I had managed to hit it, I knew because right after I threw my spear at it, the thing gave off an ear piercing scream of pain. I must have got it good, that'll teach the thing to think twice before raiding us again. I got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast, passing by Tuffnut who for once stayed silent. After eating some fresh bread with fruit preserve, I grabbed my fur coat and spear, and headed out into the forest for a walk. Although it was winter, it had yet to snow. Instead, a thick frost covered the forest, making the ground crunch with each step I took. My thoughts soon started to wander, and I suddenly found myself thinking about Hiccup. It had been three months since he had been banished from Berk. He had put himself on the dragons' side and betrayed us all. The guys and I all asked Astrid about it, and she had said that Hiccup had a saddled dragon stashed in a cove in the woods, and when she had gone after him to confront him about how he was doing so well in dragon training, he had set it on her. She even had the burn to prove it.

Snotlout had sworn to find and kill Hiccup in the most brutal ways he could think of for marring his beautiful Astrid. Tuffnut had ogled over the burn, saying it would become an awesome scar. Fishlegs, being the dragon geek he was, asked what kind of dragon Hiccup had, and when Astrid replied Night Fury, he fainted. Everyone else was shocked that Hiccup actually had a Night Fury, I was more shocked that Hiccup was riding the thing. I mean, if I was in Astrid's place I would at least have questioned why the dragon was wearing a saddle, and would have probably asked for a ride. I had always liked Hiccup, though I would never tell anyone that seeing as they would start picking on me, and I got enough of that from my brother. I had always liked Hiccup's klutziness, it always reminded me of an adorable lost puppy trying to figure out where to go. Another thing that made Hiccup a heart throb in my eyes was the fact that he worked in the forge. Anyone could be a dragon slayer, but Hiccup was in there making the weapons, and nothing was hotter than a guy who made weapons. It was one of the reasons I had asked to be Gobber's apprenticeafter Hiccup left, I thought Hiccup had the coolest job ever. I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't notice a branch in the way until I bumped my head on it. Clutching my head in pain, my cheeks flushed in embarrassment and I was so glad no one was around to see that little mishap.

Then I noticed how far I wandered, and was about to turn back when a spot of color on the ground caught my eye. I went and took a closer look at it. It was violet red colored, and in the shape of a small rough circle. I looked up and saw that the branch I had bumped into was almost broken off the tree, the same violet red color splattered all over the break area. Was that what I think it was? I reached up as high as I could and scraped off some of the frozen violet stuff from the branch. I then tasted the stuff to confirm my thoughts, and spat it back out immediately, knowing I was right. It was blood, and a lot of it too. Whatever made that break must have been cut badly by it, but what could have done that? A bear maybe? No, they were big enough, but it was too far into winter for any to still be out and about. Then I noticed more frozen droplets of blood leading farther into the woods. I followed the trail, only for it to disappear by a big tree. Huffing, I decided to continue a bit farther to see if the trail picked back up. I walked past the tree, only to fling myself behind it in terror, because just a bit farther along was a big black dragon. I wait for a couple minutes, but I hear nothing. I check my flanks, but there's no dragon looking around the tree. Mustering up my courage, I peer around the trunk. The dragon was still where I saw it and it didn't look like it was moving. Actually, it looked pretty dead. I slowly walked towards the dragon, but it still doesn't move. Then I notice the spear in its side.

"Odin almighty, I did it. I killed my first dragon," Yeah that's right, I had made my fair share of maimings but I could never manage to kill one before it got away, "Hah hah! I, Ruffnut Thorston, have brought down this mighty beast." I exclaim with pride and put my foot up on the body, only for said body to give off a grunt and shoulder me off, sending me to the ground. I scramble away from the obviously still breathing dragon as fast as I could.

"_Damn it girl," _I scold myself, _"have you learned nothing? You always got to check if they're dead first. That thing could have bitten your leg off before you would even know what was happening." _Grabbing my spear, I once again approach the dragon, weapon held in front of me. The beast doesn't move, but merely looks at me with an open eye, which was a brilliant shade of intense bright blue. I brandish my spear, ready to plunge it into the monster's heart.

"I'm going to kill you dragon. I'm going to cut off your head and bring it to my chief. I am a dragon slayer, I am a viking!" With that last shout I get ready to end the thing's life, but something stops me. My gaze catches the dragon's eye again, and in that blue orb I see a storm of emotion. Pain, sorrow, but most of all, fear. Tearing my gaze from it, I get ready to drive the spear forward, but the haunting image of that eye stops me, and no matter how hard I try to thrust the spear forward, all I do is fall to my knees.  
"I did this." I whisper quietly. I just couldn't bring myself to kill it. I look back at the dragon and I see still see the fear in its eye, but I also see something else, gratitude maybe? I knew I couldn't leave it here though, someone else might stumble on it. I could see the damage it had taken from that crash into the branch, a large, jagged, bleeding gash running down its side, just before the wing, and the one wing out of four it wasn't lying on was torn up real badly. I throw my spear far behind me, and gently put my hand on the dragon, who recoils from the touch a bit and gives a fearful whine.

"Don't worry," I tell the dragon softly, "I'm not going to hurt you. I need you to stay put. I'll be back with things I can help you with, but you got to stay here." I then get up and run back to the village, grabbing my spear as I pass it. Odin's mercy, if the village found out about this I would be lucky to get banished. Stoick had become more brutal around dragons ever since Hiccup left. Gobber was still trying to get replacements for dragon training. The chief was also depressed by Hiccup's departure. I knew because of the way Stoick had thrown himself into his chieftanship duties. I could tell he would stop at nothing to destroy the dragon's nest, even if it meant getting all of Berks warriors killed in the process.

After a while of running I was in the village. Very few people were outside, making my mission much easier. Making sure not to be seen, I reached the healer's house and hid along the side. I knew that one of the kids was suffering from a cold, so the healer would be heading there soon. No sooner had the thought finished, when I heard the door open, then close, and the crunch of footfalls growing softer and farther. As soon as I could no longer hear him, I peered around the corner and saw the healer heading down the hill, far enough away to not notice me. I dash to the door and slip inside. I root around for what I need, making sure to keep everything where it was before. After two minutes I found two full rolls of bandages, some disinfecting herbs, a stitching needle and thread, and a bundled up litter. I didn't take too much herbs, and the healer had plenty of bandage rolls, but the missing litter would be noticed. I hurry out, check to see if the coast was clear before slipping away. Thankfully no one noticed me as I headed back into the woods. Following my tracks, I made it back to the dragon. I take a minute to catch my breath, and set up the litter.

"Can you lie down on this please. It will help me move you somewhere safer." The dragon managed to raise itself, but was too weak to do more. I managed to slide the litter underneath it, and just in time, because right after I got it in position, the dragon collapsed. I then began to drag the litter like a makeshift sled towards a place only I knew about. I was horrified at the amount of blood the dragon had lost, if the massive splotch of violet red on the ground was any indication. I quickly dragged the wounded dragon down a hill and into a medium sized cove. It wasn't the one where Hiccup kept his Night Fury, it was an area I had stumbled on by accident, and from then on it became my sanctuary, a place where I could go to escape my troubles and my brother. I placed the dragon on a spot near a black, stone ringed depression in the ground filled with kindling and went into a small cave and grabbed some firewood I had cut earlier in the year. One thing about me is that I am a very outdoorsy person. Where Astrid trains, I have fun. I do all sorts of stuff like camping, climbing, hunting, even fishing when it's summer. It's why I'm probably never going to get married. Setting the firewood into the depression, I pull out my tinderbox and strike the flint for sparks, lighting the kindling and starting a nice fire. I turn to look at the dragon, and I see gratitude in his eyes.

"All right, you stay here. I'm going to go and make sure no one gets suspicious. I'll be right back." With that I head back home. Once I get there I start packing for a week long camping trip. I needed to get some foodstuffs from the market, so I grabbed my savings from work in the forge, and start heading out, only to bump into my mother. Oh boy, brace yourselves my poor ears.

"Just where do you think you're going?" she asks in a harsh tone.

"Out" I respond in normal teenage fashion. This however only gets my mother upset.

"Where?" she snaps out.

"The woods. Gobber doesn't need me in the forge for the week and I need to pick up a few things from the market."

"Oh for the love of Thor girl, enough with the men's activities. Start learning something useful like knitting, or baking. What kind of man would want a wife that doesn't know what every woman should."

"That's just it mom, I don't want to get married. I don't want to spend the rest of my life cooped up in a house all day, with nothing but a dragon raid to keep me from going stir crazy." Having had enough of this, I walked past my mother, and left for the market. Purchasing the things I need, I return home, grab my pack, ignore my mother's glare, and head back out into the woods. Reaching the cove, I see that the dragon has shifted a bit to get closer to the fire. I set my pack down near the fire and returned to the dragon's side. I noticed that the dragon's side wound doesn't look as bad as before, like it's already partly done healing. I bring out the bandages I stole and dressed the side wound, then I turned my attention to the spear still lodged in its side.

"I need to pull this out of you," I told the dragon calmly, "It's going to hurt, a lot, but it's the only way to get the wound to heal." With that, I gripped the spear and told the dragon to brace itself, and with one good pull, I got the spear out. The winged reptile screeched in pain, but quietened down after a bit. I then turn and dig around in my coat for the stitching needle and thread. Once I find it, I turn back to the dragon, and find that it was licking its wound.

"Okay, that's enough, I got to close that." I said while shooing his snout away from the wound. When I inspect it however, It's not as deep as it was before and looks partly healed, just like the other wound. Shrugging, I pull out the bandage roll and dress the partly healed wound like the first one, then I turn my attention to the ripped wing. Before I can work on that however, the dragon lunges at me. I fall back with a shriek, the dragon's jaws just missing my hand. It then snarls at me and pulls its wing close, obviously not wanting it touched or tampered with.

"Please," I say, trying to reason with the dragon, " I need to close those tears, or you'll never be able fly again." The dragon still continued to snarl, but it wasn't licking the wound, which proved that it knew it couldn't let the wing heal in the state it was in. Then it hit me like chief Stoick's hammer to the face. The dragon had let me tend its body because if I messed something up, it could still heal itself properly. This however, was its wing. If I were to damage it further, the dragon would not be able to fly, ever. What could I do though? Then it hit me, I turned my head away, and reached out towards the dragon's snout. There, now I was risking my limb. The dragon could easily bite it off, but I was trusting him. Would he betray that trust? My hand stayed outstretched a few seconds longer, then something warm pressed into it. I looked back and saw the dragon had pressed his snout to my hand. We stayed like that for a few seconds, then he slowly pulled away. I approached his injured wing once again, and this time he did not snarl.

"Can you spread out your wing? I can't fix it when it's folded like this." The dragon nodded, and spread his wing out. I worked with all the delicacy I could muster. This dragon trusted me and I wouldn't let him down. After an hour had passed, I had stitched all five tears closed. The dragon gave his wing a gentle flap, and was obviously pleased that I had fixed the wing so well, for he started to purr. Soon though, he stopped and laid his head down to sleep. I put away the medical supplies back into my bag, a smile on my face the whole time. Hah, take that Tuffnut. You said learning battlefield healing was for pansies, well I sure proved you wrong. After packing the supplies up and throwing some more wood on the fire, I decided to explore the surrounding areas. I'd done it plenty of times before, but I didn't care. I wandered around, not really exploring, more like strolling, and then I came across something. Tracks, not fresh, but indeed recent.

Was someone looking for me? If it's Tuffnut I am going to stomp his troll face into the ground. Then I notice something else, there was a second set of tracks by the first set., going in the same direction and in equal pace to the first set. Curious, I follow the tracks, and I come to the cove Hiccup was said to have kept his Night Fury. I cautiously enter, and clamp a hand to my mouth to stop a startled gasp. Inside the cove a short distance away, was a sleeping black dragon a bit larger than the one I was caring for, but not as stocky. It didn't look like mine either, the head was too rounded, and my dragon had four wings, that one had only two. Then, perhaps from a reflex action caused by a dream, or maybe something else, the dragon's wing lifted slightly, and I see what, or whom I should say, was under the wing.

"Hiccup?"

…...

**And another chapter done. Just to let everyone know, I am taking requests for OC dragon species, so if you want to send your own species of dragon, feel free. I actually based Ruffnut's personality off of one of my sisters. I find that my sis and Ruff act extremely similar,so I hope she isn't being too OOC here.**


	4. The new rider

**A/N:**

**Okay, I have to say it, I suck at apologies. Nevertheless, I am deeply sorry about last chapter's note. I was in a bad mood when I wrote that, so I probably sounded like a conceited ungrateful jerk, which is exactly what I'm like when I'm mad. So to all those who had read that, I am so very sorry. Now I have something to say. There is a very big reason I want reviews that help me improve, in fact it's the very reason I write in the first place. You see, my first sister had always wanted to be a published author. She did all she could to realize that dream, but sadly it would never come true. Four month's ago she was killed in a car accident. Ever since, I have been writing fanfiction to get good enough to write a chaptered novel for my sister, so that I can make that dream come true for her. I've been trying my hardest to get good enough, but it never seems to be enough. No, I haven't written this because I want sympathy. I haven't written this for pity. I've written this because I want this off my chest, and I also want support. So thanks I guess, to everyone who read this and didn't skip past it. Thanks for hearing me out.**

…**...**

**Chapter 3**

I dreamt I was flying. Flying through the darkness of the night on Toothless' back. There was nothing around us but the infinite stars and the lights of the northern aurora. It was the most beautiful dream I had had for a while now, and it abruptly ended when a certain salamander decided to kick me in his sleep. I open my eyes to see nothing but lightly shifting black, meaning I was under Toothless' wing. I then recalled where we were. We had been heading west, but we had to turn north due to a large storm coming our way. We had arrived back at Berk late at night, only to be greeted by an ongoing dragon raid. We flew across the village and into the woods where we bunked at our old cove. I was about to attempt to return to sleep when I heard someone say my name, and I shoot upright in a flash. Apparently I wasn't the only one, because in the blink of an eye Toothless went from sleeping like a log, to curled around me and snarling at whoever was intruding on our turf. I then looked to whoever had found us and saw the shocked face of Ruffnut. With another snarl, Toothless shot forward before the girl could even react, and pinned her down with a paw. Then he started arching back in preparation for a fireball.

"Toothless, no!" I holler at him, and he turns his head to me for a second, but brings it back to Ruffnut. Then he lets loose a mighty screech, and returns to me. Ruffnut was snow white with terror, and she was breathing in heaving gasps. Man, that was just like the first time I met Toothless. Ruffnut finally managed to stumble back onto her shaking legs, and calm her breathing a bit.

"What... was... that... for.?" she gasped out between breaths, and I chuckle nervously.

"Heheh, sorry about that. He doesn't like unannounced visitors." Ruffnut manages to get her breathing back to normal, and stares at Toothless with wide, but comparative eyes as well.

"Is that really a Night Fury?" was her first question. Something I was not expecting to hear.

"You know, that was not what I was expecting. I was thinking more along the lines of, 'what are you doing here,' or 'Get out of here before I get the chief.', yet you're asking me if my dragon's a Night Fury? You got some weird priorities." A small stone beaning me on the head was the response. I yell in surprise and slight pain, and subsequently trip and fall flat on my back. Ruffnut laughs, and Toothless is snickering as well.

"Oh sure, laugh at the klutz. That's right, entertainment galore right here." I say sarcastically.

"You are just too cute when you do that." says Ruffnut, but she immediately clamps a hand over her mouth right after she says it. I give her an odd look. Me, cute? I was expecting dorky.

"Where did that come from?" I ask.

"I honestly have no idea." she replied, a little too quickly.

"Okay." I said while getting back up, drawing out the o. I then repack my fur blankets and hop on Toothless.

"Wait, you're leaving?" Of all the things I had expected Ruffnut to say, that question had not even made the list, and was that disappointment I heard in her voice?

"Um, yeah. In case you forgot, I'm not exactly welcome here."

"It's not that. I wasn't expecting you to be leaving so soon is all."

"And just why does it matter?" At this, Ruffnut goes red."

"Well," she stutters out, obviously trying to think up a response, "there's something I need you to help me with." My eyebrows shot up at that.

"What could you possibly need me, the talking fish bone, for help with?"

"Just follow me and I'll show you." she said, and heads out of the cove. Toothless merely flies me over the cove wall, and drops right out of the air in front of Ruffnut as she's coming out of the cove, scaring her again and making her fall on her butt.

"What the! Just what was that for!" She yells, and I just laugh.

"Ask Toothless." I respond after I manage to stop laughing. Ruffnut just grunts and gets up. She leads us to a smaller, but much more secluded cove deeper in the woods. When we get to the entrance, she stops us.

"Could you two wait here for a minute, I don't want him to act like your Night Fury did to me." With that very confusing order, Ruffnut heads into the cove. Silence reigns for a bit, then Ruffnut's voice is heard.

"Okay you two, you can come in now." she calls. Toothless and I head in, and my jaw hits the ground.

"Ruffnut you... that's... uuhh." that's as far as I get before my brain shuts down from the shock and I hit the ground as darkness devours my vision. I am brought back into consciousness when Toothless starts licking my face off.

"Blech! Alright, I'm up Toothless, cut that out." and I manage to get Toothless' face away after a bit of pushing. Ruffnut just giggled at the scene.

"So you have a dragon." I say with a bit of shock, and Ruffnut nods.

"He looks pretty banged up." I continue.

"Yeah, I found him out in the woods earlier. I nailed him last night with one of my spears during last night's dragon raid, and he tried to flee. The spear must have been screwing something up with his flight though, because he had smashed into a large tree branch. The collision gave him a nasty gash across his side, and tore his wing up too." I looked at the dragon, and saw no tears in his wing, which meant...

"He let you touch his wing? He actually let you touch his wing, let alone mend it? Do you know how much trust is needed before a dragon will let anyone near their wings?" I ask in complete shock.

"Um, a lot." was Ruffnut's rather simple reply.

"Ruffnut, it took me _days _to get Toothless here to trust me enough just to let me touch him in general, yet you've exceeded that amount of trust with this dragon in less than a day. That's just insane."

"How did you meet Toothless?" Ruffnut asked, startling me with the topic change.

"Um, how is that relevant?"

"I have a point, now how did you meet Toothless."

"Well I uh..." and as soon as I thought about it, I burst out laughing.

"Care to share the punchline?" Ruffnut asks, and I barely manage to hold in my giggle fit.

"No, no. It's just that we met our dragons pretty much the same way as each other. You remember that night I claimed to have shot down a Night Fury, right?" At Ruffnut's nod I continue. "Well at dawn I decided to go look for it, and I found him. He was all tied up and completely at my mercy, yet when I stared into those eyes, I saw myself. He was just as terrified as I was if not more, and I knew that I couldn't kill him. So, I cut him loose, and he pounced on me, pinning me to the ground. I had thought for sure that he was going to eat me or something, but he roars right in my face and flies off. Or at least, he tried to."

"What do you mean?" asks Ruffnut, confused.

"Well, later when I met Toothless again, I saw his tail was uneven. One of the fins on it had been sliced off, completely grounding him."

"But he can still fly. I saw him." I shake my head and tell Toothless to show his tail, which he does albeit reluctantly. Ruffnut immediately realizes what's going on.

"Wait, you made him a prosthetic fin? A working fin? That's incredible. I mean, I would never have been able to do that."

"Yeah, still took a while to perfect. During that time I learned many things about dragons, and put them into practice in dragon training."

"So that's how you were so good. None of us could really figure it out."

"Well, that's how I met Toothless. So what was your point?"

"Oh right, well I found my dragon extremely injured, and instead of attacking him I helped him. Toothless was only tied up. I think that's why mine has more trust in me." Then a loud groan is heard, and Ruffnut goes over to her dragon.

"Hiccup, do you know what he wants?" she calls over to me.

"He's probably hungry. I bet he hasn't eaten since before the dragon raid." Ruffnut nodded and went to her pack, bringing out a cut of raw mutton.

"Okay boy, chow time." she said soothingly to the injured dragon, and brought the cut of meat to him. The dragon responded to the meat and tried to eat it, but it looked like he didn't have the strength to chew. Ruffnut looked like she was getting worried.

"Hiccup, what do I do? He's hungry, but he's not eating." she asked with a bit of panic in her voice.

"He's probably been weakened to the point where he can't eat unassisted. The meat will have to be chewed up first."

"Wait, I got to chew it up? _Raw_?" She says in horror.

"That's the only way he can eat it. You want him to starve?" Ruffnut looked at the meat, then at her dragon, then back at the meat, and sighed.

"You better be grateful." she says quietly, though I manage to hear it, and takes a bite out of the raw mutton. She grimaces, and looks like she's going to spit it out.

"Ruffnut, you got to chew that up some." I tell her, and she gives three forced chews before spitting the meat out into her hand, then offering it to her dragon. He licks the meat out of her hand, and this time has a much easier time eating it.

"Okay Ruffnut, keep going." I call out to her.

"Do I really have to?" she groans back, and I fight to keep a straight face. Toothless has enough of our antics and walks over to Ruffnut.

"And what do you want?" she asks him, and he answers by snatching the meat out of her hands.

"Hey!" she shouts angrily as Toothless chows down on the mutton, "That was his. Hiccup, get your dragon away from mine, he's eating all the food." At this I just chuckle a bit. Once Toothless is finished with the mutton, he starts gazing intently at Ruffnut while getting closer to her, making her scoot back.

"No, no, stay back," she says, but Toothless still presses forward until Ruffnut is backed up against a tree. "I, I don't have anymore." she manages to stutter out. Toothless sniffs her a bit, then snorts and heads over to the injured dragon. Ruffnut looks at Toothless in curiosity as he lowers his head down to the other dragon's level. Toothless then proceeds to regurgitate the meat he had eaten in front of the dragon, who happily eats it. I couldn't help but laugh at Ruffnut's shocked face. She looks at me and her shock turns to confusion, then realization, to pure unholy rage.

"You knew he could do that, didn't you. You knew and yet you still made me eat raw meat. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock, I'm going to kill you!" she screams, and charges at me. I continue to laugh even as I run for my life.

"I, I'm sorry... it was... just to good... to resist." I say between giggles.

"Sorry? Sorry! That's all you have to say? When I catch you you're going to pray to Odin for mercy!" I run around the cove as fast as I can, but Ruffnut catches up and leaps at me. Colliding with me, we both take a tumble and find ourselves in a very awkward position. We get off each other and the ground as fast as we can, our faces bright red. Ruffnut grabs me by the collar and lifts me up to her eye level.

"We do not speak of this Haddock. Are we clear?" she asks in a voice that promises pain should I disobey, and I furiously nod an affirmative. She lets me go and heads back to her dragon, and I go with her to sit by the fire. Toothless wanders over to me and nudges me with his snout.

"I'm alright bud," I tell him, "she's always like that." Then a thought enters my head. My first reaction is to chuck it out, but soon I start to entertain the idea. The more I think about it, the cooler it sounded.

"All right, I've decided." I say triumphantly, and Ruffnut gives me a weird look.

"What was that all about?" she asks.

"Two reasons. One, ...you're not ready to hear one yet. Two, I'll be staying until I am certain you can care for and shelter that dragon from Berk." I reply.

"So you'll be staying?" she asks, and I could've sworn I heard a hint of hope in her voice.

"Yeah, I'll be staying. Only until you can take care of yourself and that dragon. Now I have a question for you. Are you still willing to kill a dragon?" Ruffnut took a minute to think it through.

"Only if it was going to kill those I care about." was her response, and I nod.

"Alright then, good enough for me." and then Toothless' stomach gives a grumble.

"Hungry, buddy?" I ask him, and get on the saddle.

"Hey, where are you going?" Ruffnut asks.

"We're just going hunting." I reply, and Toothless shoots into the air. An hour later we come back with a large buck. Toothless drops the carcass to the ground and I work on skinning it, making sure not to damage the hide too much. Thirty minutes later the skin is set to one side and the organs are removed. I then butcher the carcass like a pro, which I should be seeing as I've been doing this for the three months I was with the Gronckles. While I was butchering the carcass, my journal slipped out of my coat and fell to the ground beside me.

"Argh, Ruffnut could you get that, my hands are kind of dirty here." Ruffnut complies and picks the journal up off the ground.

"Do you mind if I read this?" she asks, and I tell her to go ahead. I hear her flipping through some pages, and then stop, then start again at a much slower pace.

"How in Thor's name do you know so much about Gronckles? Not even the Dragon manual has this much stuff about them." That surprised me. I had _that _journal on me?

"Oh that, interesting story actually. I lived with a Gronckle drove for three months. Learned all about their culture, be it their society, their hierarchy, heck even their mating rituals." I look over my shoulder and see Ruffnut gaping at some of the things I had learned about the Gronckles. Half an hour later I finish butchering the deer, and throw a large piece of meat to Toothless, who snaps it up eagerly. I wash my hands in a small lake in the cove that had not completely frozen over and then grab the deer hide.

"Okay buddy, you know what to do." I said, and I gave Toothless the hide, who started chewing it skin side up.

"What's he doing?" Ruffnut asked as I took my journal back from her.

"Oh, well I learned something about dragons. Turns out if a dragon chews the hide of an animal, it's like tanning it."

"Okay, so their spit can tan hides as well as heal wounds. Why do we kill these things again?" I chuckle at that, and start to slice some cuts of meat into strips to make jerky with. Once that is done I set them on a stone near the fire to dry.

"Hey do you have a place where I can put this meat?" I ask Ruffnut, who nods and points to a hollowed out area in the stone wall of the cove. I stash the rest of the meat in the indicated alcove, and retrieve the hide from Toothless. I then sit down and get an empty journal, and start drawing Ruffnut's dragon. It looked like Toothless in some ways, but there were many differences. The head was a lot more angular than Toothless' and when it yawned I saw that it's jaw and tooth structure was also very different from Toothless'. Where Toothless' teeth were built more for shearing with his bites, this Dragon's teeth were built for gripping and tearing. The upper canines were also more pronounced than the other teeth. Both dragons shared similar body structures, but the other dragon's wings were thicker. Wait, no that wasn't right, they weren't thicker, there was a second pair right under them. That was new. Both dragon's tails were similar, but Toothless' fins were broader. The other dragon had four clawed toes on each foot, with a shorter toe on the back. The fore claws were also serrated on the inside, meaning it naturally fought better in close combat than other dragons. The dragon's ears were like webbed fins on the side of it's head, completely different from Toothless' ears. The dragon's neck was also a bit longer, and it had two rows of spines starting at the back of the head, and ending at the tail fins. Lastly the dragon was black all over, but a lighter shade than Toothless. It was more like the black of a strong storm cloud than the black of the night sky. I saw Ruffnut gently stroke her dragon, getting a deep croon in response.

"Shouldn't you be heading back to the village?" I ask, and Ruffnut looks up in surprise.

"No, I was going to bee camping out here for the rest of the week." she responds, which surprises me.

"You camp? Don't get me wrong, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It's just that most women your age are usually knitting or cooking."

"Yeah well, I'm not most women." she replies with a smirk, and I smile. It would be nice to have some human company for a while.

…...

**Finally it's finished. Took me a while, but it's finished. I don't know though, it feels like it's lacking something. Oh well, maybe you guys can spot it. Review and fave please.**


	5. Closeness, capture, and escape

**Chapter 4**

A week had gone by since I met Ruffnut and her new dragon. During that time, I taught her the basics of dragon training, like what and what not to feed it, where and where not to scratch it, and how and how not to entertain it. Ruffnut made the mistake of calling her dragon a pet however, and the response was not pleasant. It took a while for the dragon to trust her again. I had never called Toothless a pet, ever. Sure I had commented that some of Toothless' behavior was like a pet's, but I never implied that he was one. I also found out what had been going on in my three month absence from Ruffnut. Dad had been getting more aggressive in his search for the nest, but he had yet to start increasing the number of men he took on those searches. Ruffnut also told me that he wasn't looking to swell, like he hadn't been getting enough sleep at night. Berk itself though was doing alright. Dragon raids were still going on, but without me there to screw things up, they were doing much better in keeping them out. The one thing that really made me sick to the stomach was the fact that Dad was killing every dragon he got his hands on. It wasn't their fault they had to raid the village, they just as much victims as the vikings were. If they didn't bring enough food to that demon, as I so liked to call it, in their nest, it would devour them instead. I had told this to Ruffnut and she was at first amazed that I had been to the nest, and then horrified at what was within it.

During that one week, Ruffnut's dragon had finished healing. Sure its saliva acted like a healing agent, but the wounds were still pretty bad so they still took a while to finish healing. It also had to get all the blood it had lost from its injuries back, not to mention the stitched wing had to heal back together. All in all, it took the dragon the whole week before it was completely healed. After the week was over, Ruffnut told me she was due back at the village, but when she tried to leave, the dragon followed her. Eventually she managed to get the dragon to stay in the cove, and headed back to the village. Every couple of days, she would come back and feed, scratch, and play with her dragon. At the end of that week, the dragon had tried to fly with Ruffnut, but she and I managed to persuade it not to, yet. That night, Ruffnut and I managed to slip into the forge at the dead of night, and I started helping her make a saddle for her dragon. I had taken some measurements previously, and now had all the necessary things to make the saddle. It was not as elaborate as Toothless', but Toothless had a prosthetic that needed me to control it, Ruffnut's dragon did not. Ruffnut's dragon did have an extra pair of wings, so we needed to modify the design to allow for both pairs to freely move. We worked all through the night, and managed to finish in time before anyone was awake.

The following day was spent trying to get the saddle on the dragon, not an easy thing seeing as he took to it like Toothless first did, with lots of running all over the place. We finally managed to get the thing on him, much to his displeasure, though he changed his tune when Ruffnut mounted him and buckled her harness to the saddle. I then got on Toothless and we showed her the basics of flight. We taught her how to turn, dive, rise, speed up, and slow down. After practicing for three days, she felt she could take us on in a race, and we agreed. Naturally, we left her in the dust, laughing the whole way.

"So what was that about taking down a Night Fury?" I asked with a smirk as soon as we landed back in the cove. Ruffnut just grunted in annoyed fury and started checking her dragon's saddle for any damages it may have attained during the flight.

"Just you wait Haddock, I'll get you one day." Her dragon growled in agreement, though Toothless just snorted as if saying 'yeah right'. I chuckled a bit, and scratched behind one of Toothless' ears. Toothless purred and leaned into my scratching fingers, wanting more of the pleasurable feeling. I had to admit though, that dragon was fast, faster than any other I had ever seen. I had yet to see it use its second pair of wings separately though. Throughout the whole time it was flying, it used both pairs together like a single pair. I started getting dinner ready, brushing away the snow on Ruff's large pot, and getting a fire going. Three days after Ruffnut had found us, snow had fallen on Berk. Toothless seemed to love the stuff, frolicking away in it as much as he could. As soon as the fire was ready I filled the pot with snow and set it over the fire. During the time I had stayed here Ruffnut's been telling me about her own life as well as the village's. She and Tuffnut were no longer getting along in their own weird way, much to my surprise. Tuffnut's insult comebacks had become more harsh than normal. Not only that, but he was actually hitting Ruff back with more force and violence than normal as well. Her mother was constantly pressuring her to take up activities suited more to women, things she hated with a passion. Once the snow had melted and the water started boiling, I threw in some potatoes and chopped meat, making a stew. Putting the lid on the pot, I leaned back against Toothless' side and looked back at Ruffnut.

"So, have you come up with a name for him yet?" I ask, trying to start a conversation.

"Yeah I have. I'm thinking of calling him Stormwing." she replied.

"Why that name?"

"Well at least it's better than Toothless, Haddock." Then I hear a growl. I turn to the sound and see Toothless glaring at me with his ears pressed back, looking extremely annoyed. He suddenly gets up, making me fall backwards onto the ground, and trots off a ways, lying back down a considerable distance away. Just what was that all about? I look back at Ruffnut and see that she's scratching her dragon, who was purring from the pleasure. I also notice that Ruff always looks calmer, happier, out here than I ever saw her be in Berk. After a while the stew is done, and I tell Ruff that dinner's ready. She pulls out a loaf of bread she swiped from her place and breaks it in half. Handing me a half, she takes a bowl of stew and digs in. After dinner was finished, I went over to the pond, which had not yet completely frozen over, and washed the pot. Then I grabbed my sleeping furs and headed over to Toothless, but the dragon just moves away.

"What the? Toothless, what's gotten into you?" I ask as I try to follow the dragon. Toothless just snorts and gives me that annoyed look. He only really did that when I really annoyed him, but what did I do? I thought back and remembered that he had only started as soon as... Ruffnut...

"Is this about Ruff giving her dragon a cooler name?" I ask, and Toothless snorts an affirmative.

"Oh for the love of Thor Toothless, I've never been good with names, and Toothless kind of stuck. Besides, you've never objected to it before, what changed?" I could see Toothless was thinking about it, and decided to relent. Letting me lie down beside him, he spread out a wing to shield me from the elements.

I stayed in that cove for three months, and boy were those months interesting. Half way through the first month, Toothless gets these weird, glowing, pale green markings on his body. I chalked it up to a mating season thing, which meant that Night Fury mating seasons are during mid winter. Toothless had those markings for two whole months, meaning that Night Fury Mating seasons were very drawn out affairs. Ruffnut still challenged us to races, but Stormwing just couldn't keep up with a Night Fury's speed. Toothless however, could not match Stormwing in terms of strength. The two loved to wrestle, and Stormwing always came out on top. Of course, Ruffnut always had to go on about saying how she had the stronger dragon, but I mostly just tuned her out. I had also seemed to replace Tuffnut in their habitual squabbles. She called me fish bone so I called her tomboy, and then it just went from there. Soon we were arguing like a married couple, and I had to be honest with myself, it felt good to do that. It sounded stupid, but I actually enjoyed the shouting matches.

Three nights later, Ruffnut comes running into the cove crying her eyes out. Stormwing immediately rushes over to his rider, trying to calm and soothe her, but still she cried while clutching on to her dragon. I had never seen Ruffnut, confident tomboyish Ruffnut, cry. I once again had to be honest with myself, the sight hurt. To see Ruffnut look so broken, it tore my heart apart, yet I had no idea why. After she had finally calmed down enough that she was no longer crying hard, I gently ask why she had been crying like that. The answer shocked, horrified, and infuriated me. I had been expecting her to say her Mother died from winter illness. I had been expecting her to say that dragons had gotten to all her family's livestock and now they didn't have enough food for the winter. The answer was far worse. Lately, Tuffnut and Snotlout have been getting constantly drunk off mead, and they took things too far tonight. Ruffnut had said for Tuff to get his drunk ass home, and he and Snotlout start beating on her. That's when I noticed the bruises all over her. She had also said that Snotlout's hand had strayed too close to some places for comfort while they were clubbing her. She had managed to get away from the two and had fled to the cove. I don't know why, but I wanted to go and rip those two jerks apart. I didn't care if I was a weakling, I had to make those bastards suffer. I managed to push my wrath down, but it still smoldered in my heart, ready to ignite at a moment's notice. After a while, Ruffnut fell asleep in her dragon's arms, her body still shuddering from tiny sobs. Stormwing curled himself around her and enclosed his wings like a cocoon of sorts.

I then realized something, Ruffnut probably had next to no friends, and now her brother was abusing her, so who in Berk did she have now? The thought scared me, because now I saw that Ruff and I weren't so different. I never showed it, but I was very lonely in Berk. No one cared about me, my father never loved me, and I had absolutely no friends. Ruffnut was practically in the same boat, right down to the abusive family member. I had somehow managed to fall asleep despite the anger fuelling me, dreams of Tuffnut and Snotlout pleading for mercy filling my mind.

Two weeks after that incident, Toothless' markings had finally faded. Ruffnut also had started spending more and more time out in the cove as well, barely staying in Berk to do her blacksmith work. I was starting to worry someone might get suspicious. Ruffnut and Stormwing were getting much closer, though that was kind of expected seeing as the dragon was probably Ruff's only friend. At the second last day of the month, it was Ruffnut's birthday. I didn't really have anything to give her so I gave her an empty journal, though she was happy I had given her something. The next day though was when it all went downhill.

…...

I headed back to the village in the early morning, knowing no one would be up at that time. It hurt to leave Stormwing, but I could always come back later. As soon as I made it back, I knew something was very, very wrong. Right in front of my house was chief Stoick along with a group of other vikings.

"Uh, is there a problem chief?" I ask warily.

"Just how long did yeh think yeh could hide it?" Stoick asked in a dark voice. Panic races through my mind. _"Odin's mercy, please don't let him know." _I prayed.

"Nothing goes on on this island without my hearin' about it." Stoick continued, and a lump of ice seemed to fall into my stomach.

"So let's talk, Thorston." Oh please no, please no!

"About that dragon." Stoick finished, levelling an extremely hard glare at me. My mind shut down for one second, then I ran.

"After her!" I could heard Stoick shout, and it only made me run faster. I had to get to Stormwing. If I made it, we'd be able to escape. I dashed through those woods as fast as my legs could go, checking behind me to see how far my pursuers were. Thankfully they were nowhere in sight, and I let out a laugh of disbelief for losing them, only for a hammer to smash into my chest. Letting out a scream of pain as I collide with a tree, I look up and see two people I did not to meet right now, Tuffnut and Snotlout.

"Hey sis, why you running?" Tuffnut casually asks, with a mocking tone in his voice.

"Would it happen to be because your little secret's out?" asks Snotlout in that same mocking tone. They approach closer, their twisted grins promising pain.

"Well now sis, you've been a bad girl for hiding a dragon." said Tuffnut, and I wonder.

"How do you know it's a dragon?" I ask.

"Simple. I've been noticing you slip out of the village quite a lot, so I followed you last night. And guess what I find? You with your own dragon talking to that banished traitor of a fish bone. So being the responsible viking I am, I go and tell the chief about this." Tuffnut and Snotlout start laughing when they see my frightened look.

"We were actually just going to go kill them before you came barreling through the bush." said Snotlout, and then he got a grin that I did not like the look of.

"Say Tuff, how about we make the traitor watch." He said with that cruel grin still on his face, which was soon reflected on Tuffnut's.

"That sounds good Snot." he said, and before I can get away, he grabs me by my hair and drags me with him. I scream and yell as try to get out of his grip, only for it to tighten.

"Would you shut the Hel up you loudmouth." he says, and then we hear it. It sounded something like the cross between howling wind and crashing thunder, and that was when Stormwing leaped out of the bush. He let loose a bolt of lightning which sent Snotlout flying, and pounced on Tuffnut, fangs and claws bared. I heard my brother scream as the two rolled out of sight, then I hear some very amusing things coming from my brother.

"Gah! Oh, that's going to leave a scar! Wait, what're you... Oh no, no no!" Then the sound of something tearing along with my brother's scream fills the air. "No, please no. Have mercy." was all I heared before a flash of light lit up the area, and an agonized scream filled my ears. After that, Stormwing trots out from behind the bushes looking very pleased with himself. I let out a breath of fear I didn't know I'd been holding, I made it to Stormwing. Stormwing started coming towards me, only for a thrown hammer to slam into that spot under his chin. His eyes widen for a second, then he collapses to the ground screaming bloody murder. I try to calm him down, to ease his pain, but nothing works. That's when the other vikings appear. They drag me away from my still thrashing dragon, and I can only watch as Stoick comes up with his hammer, ready to end my friend's life.

"No! Please no!" I plead, but the chief ignores me and readies his hammer.

"Wait Stoick!" shouts a familiar voice, and I look to see Gobber pushing his way through the throng.

"For the last time Gobber, no! I will not spare these beasts so yeh can use them fer trainin'"

"It's not that Stoick, take a good look at the beast, can yeh say you've ever seen a dragon like tha'?" Questioned Gobber. Stoick looked at the dragon for a while and replied no.

"Then tha' means it's a new kind. At least let us study it for the dragon manual, then if we come across another one like it, we have the preparation ta' slay it. As soon as we're done yeh can kill the beast." Stoick gave Gobber a glare, but relented. "Fine. Bind it and get it back to the village!" he ordered the other vikings, then he turned to me.

"You." he said, pointing a finger at me, "are comin' with me." And with that, I was dragged after him.

…...

It was night in Berk, and I was spending it in a cold cell near the kill ring. I could hear Stormwing's shrieks and roars as he tried to escape whatever cage they had put him in. To make matters worse, there was an ice storm brewing. Stoick had ordered not my banishment, but my execution. I tried to reason with him, telling him dragons were not what we thought they were, but the man would not listen. When I mentioned the thing they had to bring food to he immediately showed interest, demanding if I had been to the nest. I old him that while I hadn't, Hiccup had. He asked if I knew how to get there, but Hiccup never told me. So I was locked up, and was going to either freeze to death, or be executed. I looked out the window of my cell, looking at the dark angry clouds approach. And then I heard Toothless' shriek of a roar, and a resounding cry of "Night Fury!"

…...

As soon as I heard Ruffnut scream Stormwing was already running out of the cove. Toothless and I immediately dashed after him. When we reached her we saw Tuff and Snotlout yanking her by her hair. Stormwing let out a roar, and I was interested in the sound it made. The dragon leaped out and blasted Snotlout with... was that lightning? Snotlout went flying and hit the ground, out cold. Then Stormwing turned his attention on Tuffnut, and gave the guy the biggest mauling of his life. That had been very satisfying to watch, though I had sympathy when Stormwing unleashed his fury on those very important parts. The dragon then heads back to his rider, a very pleased look on his face, I'd have one on too if I had gotten to give Tuffnut a beat down. That however, was when all Hel broke loose. I noticed the vikings approaching too late and one of them threw a hammer square into Stormwing's jaw, exactly where that sweet spot on the neck was. This time however, Stormwing went into a fit of absolute agony, and I stored that information for later. The vikings then had the two surrounded, though Toothless and I managed to remain undetected. Dad was about to kill the writhing dragon with a crushing blow, but Gobber managed to stop him so they could collect research for the dragon manual. I let out a breath of relief, they weren't going to kill him yet. I had to wrap myself around Toothless' muzzle to prevent him from snarling at the vikings towing the two away, the Night Fury settling for a quiet growl instead. I hear winces and hisses of sympathy from the men who found Tuffnut, not that I could blame him. I'd call it a blessing of Odin if the guy ever has kids. As soon as all the vikings had left, and Toothless and I were alone, we headed back to the cove to wait for nightfall.

As soon as the skies had darkened enough, I tied our bags onto Toothless, and we silently flew above Berk. I had an idea as to where Ruffnut was being held, but I needed a distraction.

"Toothless, think you could stir up some pandemonium?" Toothless gave me a look that clearly says 'Oh yes', and let's loose his signature shriek. Instantly the calls of "Night Fury!" and "Get down!" respond to the shriek.

"Okay buddy, give them a taste of you fire, full strength." Toothless complies, and sends a purple blue ball of compressed flame at a house, completely obliterating it in one hit. Burning straw and wood fly everywhere, catching more houses on fire. Vikings start pouring out of houses like a swarm of angry ants, but up here we are untouchable. Three more shots are fired, and three more houses go boom. Young children and mothers are sent into the great hall for shelter, and we are careful not to hit a single one. Massive torches are lit, but we shoot them down. Soon there is enough fire and chaos going around to cover our jailbreak, but we have one more target. I give Toothless his orders, and he fires a lower powered fireball that destroys the entire back room of Gobbers forge. There, with my notes and designs destroyed, no one will be able to replicate any of my inventions, especially the bola thrower. Using the dark night as cover, Toothless and I fly over to the prison cells located by the kill ring. One of the doors has a guard, and silent as a shadow, Toothless takes him down. Fishing the key out of the man's pockets, I unlock the door and swing it open to reveal Ruffnut, who plows into me with a hug.

"Oof! Okay Ruff, let's get Stormwing and then we're out of here."Nodding, Ruffnut followed us to the kill ring where one of the doors are being bashed from behind. Pulling down the opening lever as hard as I can, the Doors open, and out rushes Stormwing. His gaze immediately lands on Ruffnut, and he charges into her, knocking her over and licking her face off. After she managed to get the dragon off her, I hand her her pack, then she and I mount our dragons, and then Stoick charged through the kill ring doors and flung a massive warhammer at us. Both our dragons managed to get us out of harms way, but now we had a problem. Our exit was being blocked by the village chief, the meanest and toughest viking of the bunch.

"Tell me why," he said, pointing his smaller hammer at me, "Why have you thrown your lot in with them?" Without hesitation I gave my answer.

"Because this dragon treated me better than all of Berk combined _dad_." I said as I patted Toothless, sneering out the last word. Stoick looked at me with an ice cold stare.

"You're no viking, you're not my son." Had that been said six months ago to me I would've been crushed, but now I've had time to think.

"Toothless, pounce." Toothless immediately dashed for Stoick, who for all his skill, was not prepared for the sheer speed of a Night Fury, and was sent to the ground as Toothless leaped on him. Unable to move or swing his hammer, Stoick could only look into Toothless' cold green eyes, then I spoke.

"I'm not your son huh? Let me ask you something, when was I ever your son?"

"You were my son until you decided to join these beasts." said Stoick, only for Toothless to dig his claws into the chief, making the man hiss in pain.

"Really, then let me ask you something once more. When did you ever tell me you were proud of me?" I ask, my voice cold. Stoick opened his mouth to reply, but realized he couldn't recall a single event where he gave Hiccup praise.

"How about this. When did you ever talk to me without anger or disappointment in your voice?" I ask. Again Stoick could find no memory of that occurring.

"Last question Stoick, when were you ever a father to me? Not a chief, but a father?" Once more, Stoick's silence answered my question. I looked down into his eyes and I saw the guilt and shame in them, but it was too late for that. Toothless reared back, and Stoick braced himself for the fireball, but received a mighty long winded roar instead, completely disorientating him. The rushing air also looked distorted, like a heatwave. With that done and my piece said, Stormwing and Toothless dashed out of the ring and took off into the sky, blending completely with the darkness. As soon as we were high enough Ruffnut steers close to me.

"Hey, you okay?" she asks.

"Right now I don't know, but I will be eventually." That's when I noticed the wind was really picking up. I was about to remark about it, when a massive gust of wind throws us back. Toothless and I tried fighting the storm, but we just couldn't power through. The wind flung us all around and snow and darkness were everywhere, making it impossible to tell which way was up. After what felt like hours, Toothless and I finally managed to stabilize ourselves , which was fortunate considering we were going to crash on an island. Landing on the island, we find a cave that can shelter us from the storm and huddle in it. I can only hope Ruffnut and Stormwing were okay.

…...

I had never been so amazed by my dragon before. As soon as we began to get tossed around by the blizzard, Stormwing started using his second pair of wings. As soon as he did, it was like the storm had no hold on us. I could feel the wind tearing at me, but Stormwing just flew through the gale like it was a gentle breeze. I tried searching for Hiccup, but the storm made it impossible to see where we were going, much less find something. I told Stormwing to find us shelter, and the dragon banked a bit before flying down and landing on a mountain. Finding a cave that was unused, we curled up in it, Stormwing holding me in his claws and wrapping his wings around me, using his body to keep me warm. I prayed that Hiccup and Toothless were alright before sleep claimed me.

…...

**And that chapter is done. That took way too long to finish for my taste, but it's my hope that you all enjoy this chapter. I did go heavy on the darker stuff, but I felt it was kind of necessary. Remember to review everyone, and I'm still taking OC dragon requests, but the number of free spots are dwindling, so act fast if you want to see an OC dragon species of your design in the fic. Just leave the details of your dragon in a PM or review, and I'll get back to you on whether or not it's accepted.**


	6. Author Note: Please Read!

Attention all readers due to various circumstances i am unable to post any updates for the time being. but dont fret story updates are still being written just due to computer issues and other various things i wont go into at the moment i cannot post them. so please be patient as hopefully i will have something up in the near future. when the new chapters are posted they will overwrite these notes. thank you for your continued support! and i hope to see you all soon.


End file.
